From cracks in the universe to “Guardians of the Galaxy”.
Welcome to WatchMojo UK and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 10
Karen Gillan moments!
For this list, we’ve gathered the best bits from Karen Gillan’s brilliant back-catalogue,
focussing on her film and TV work.
Karen caught global attention as Amy Pond, Matt Smith’s companion in “Doctor Who”,
with her character at the centre of countless key scenes.
Her walk through the Forest of Angels, facing Madame Kovarian, or her cameo for Smith’s
swansong; they all might’ve made today’s countdown.
But we’ve gone for “The Girl Who Waited”, an episode which sees the actress double up,
to play two versions of herself.
This final fight scene sees battle-hardened Amy defend younger Pond and Rory, before an
emotional farewell.
Stepping out as Eliza Dooley in the 2014 US sitcom “Selfie”, Gillan plays a narcissistic,
InstaFamous sales rep in search of real-life relationships.
While the series struggled with poor ratings and was cut from American schedules, Karen’s
performance was praised.
As Eliza, she taps into a range of anxieties and insecurities, and this scene proves a
pivotal point in her story.
As she’s balancing a will-they-won’t-they romance with John Cho’s Henry, Sia’s “Chandelier”
strikes exactly the right note.
Karen’s turn as Kerry Newblood brought a fresh dynamic to Sky 1’s “A Touch of Cloth”,
in 2014.
Drafted onto the spoof cop team for season three, as they try to solve the murder of
Cloth’s brother, she’s thrown straight into the satirical action with her first crime
scene.
Kerry cuts an inexperienced investigator for the most part, but does she know more than
she’s letting on?
Either way, she delivers some of
the show’s best lines.
Starring as Kaylie Russell in Mike Flanagan’s 2013 horror flick, “Oculus”, our next
entry sees Karen caught up in a creepy state of affairs, as her character tries to make
sense of a frightful childhood.
Returning to the site of her parents’ deaths, Kaylie is convinced that an antique mirror
is to blame, believing that it triggers hallucinations.
In this scene, she reacquaints herself with the mirror, and is immediately reminded of
the power it possesses.
Set in a haunted house and jam-packed with jump-scares, it’s horror 101 and Gillan’s
a natural.
Before “Who”, Karen was probably best known as a regular comic on “The Kevin Bishop
Show”.
A Channel 4 sketch show which ran for two series, we could’ve included a number of
skits today – from spoof news reports to a spot-on Katy Perry parody.
But we settled for a feature dubbed “Unnecessary Sequels”, and a look at what happened next
in “Pretty Woman”.
Gillan plays Vivian, who takes an unexpected career U-turn much to Edward’s confusion.
Where’s the feature-length when you need it?
Having already earned star status with one famous fandom, Gillan swapped “Doctor Who”
for the MCU in 2014, to go toe-to-toe with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
An all-out villain in the first film, Nebula was raised by Thanos and she has more than
a few grudges to bare – not least with Gamora.
Physically, the role was worlds away from anything Gillan had done before.
The blue makeup took up to four hours to apply, while her hair prompted a more permanent change.
A talent behind the camera as well as in front
of it, 2015 saw Karen write and direct two short films, “Coward” and “Conventional”.
Both were praised, with “Conventional” making the biggest impact, perhaps because
Gillan also takes the lead role.
Set at a horror convention, it follows an actress who’s desperate to remain relevant,
despite a dodgy lip job, and will do anything to protect her fame.
Funny at times and grim at others, it’s gloomy but glorious, as well.
The
Amy and Rory sub-story kept us guessing throughout Gillan’s time on “Doctor Who”, but “The
Big Bang” was a definite high point.
The chaotic conclusion to Amy’s first series, it centres on the Pandorica and a universal
reboot which almost erases The Doctor from memory.
Almost, but not quite.
Inexplicable tears lead Amy to remember her Raggedy Man, and her imaginary friend reveals
himself to all.
Considering the epic journey it took to get to this point, who can blame Matt Smith for
letting his hair down?
A fan favourite from the first film, Nebula gets an even greater role in “Guardians
2”, as her back story is better explored.
A prisoner at first, she eventually breaks free before tracking down her adopted sister
for the fight of all fights.
It’s sibling rivalry on a ridiculous level, with an intergalactic arsenal of souped-up
weapons.
The tension eventually breaks, and the two form a truce of sorts, but not before beating
all kinds of hell out of each other.
It’s back to the blue box for today’s winner, and to one of the most memorable scenes
in “Doctor Who”.
Amy meets her fate in “The Angels Take Manhattan”, an episode which sees her, Rory and the Doctor
face the famous statues in 1930s New York.
They almost destroy them all, but one survives to send Rory back in time, leaving Amy with
a crushing decision to make.
Much to Matt Smith’s agony, she follows Rory and her time as the Doctor’s companion
ends.
Afterwords aren’t always needed, but this one really was.